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New Afrikan Spirituality

Many people have been writing and asking me, what is New African Spirituality? Of course, people can read many of my articles and see that I write about Orishas, chakras, and energy healing. However, there is a much deeper purpose to the website. New African Spirituality is about self-development.

I have learned that millions of people in the United States suffer from depression, abuse, and other illnesses. People contact me and tell me horror stories about their lives. They speak of the awful things that have been done to them, and the terrible things that they have done to others. Then, I have people who contact me and have read every self-help and spiritual book in the world, and they’re still lost. They are looking for me to help them, to give them advice about love, relationships, and good health.

I was on that same path, just a few years ago. I soaked up knowledge like a dry sponge, I went to workshops and numerous seminars, and yet, I still didn’t really know anything. That was until I started studying Yoruba, and the principles of Ifa. It was then that I realized that the essence of spirituality is growth. If we as people are not developed, we are not going to be able to attract abundance, success, and love into our lives.

Enlightenment is about finding the light that is within. However, we can only do that if we take the time to reflect, to meditate, to go within and explore who we truly are. This process starts with “reprogramming.” So many people have been programed to believe that African religions are dark and evil. There are some people who think it is a taboo to even mention Santeria, or Vodun. This kind of programing works as a dark cloud that hovers over us. For true development involves healing, and the first step to healing is awareness. The second step is acceptance of all things, the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Many people fail to develop because they are constantly looking outside of themselves. They become mechanical, going through the motions, without understanding the true essence of enlightenment, which is inner peace that comes from beyond the mind. People who are mechanical become zealots. They can always find fault in others but have a blind eye when it comes to their own flaws. These are the people who take the time to send me hate mail.

I am not looking to argue with anybody, for I am also on the journey to enlightenment. I used to point my finger and the play the blame game too. However, over the years I realized that there is really no need to do that. We are all one, and race, sex, gender and religious preferences are just programs that work to tear us apart. My job is to bring people together. My purpose is to raise awareness and help everyone understand that we are all looking for the same thing, inner peace. We all just have different ways of finding it.

When my nephew was younger, he used to have an obsession with the hit television series, Avatar:

The Last Airbender. I remember him imitating the characters. He would call out each element, water, earth, fire, air, as he performed sloppy roundhouse kicks and jerky mudras. I always had a hard time explaining to him what I did for a living. How do I explain African spirituality to a child? Then, one day, I just had the perfect response. I am an airbender, spiritual style.

Yes, I gave him information that he could run and tell all of his friends about.

I think that I was on his list for having one of the coolest jobs ever. Maybe he could invite me in for show and tell? Perhaps he could introduce me to his teachers during career day? I’m sure that I would sound absolutely crazy introducing myself as an airbender. But I wanted to stick with it. I felt that it was important for my young nephew to understand the richness of our culture and the power of our ancestors.

You see, we spiritualist have been bending, twisting, and working with the elements since the beginning of time.

We have become unbalanced over the years because much of the information needed for spiritual growth has been lost or hidden. We used to live according to the laws of spirit, where everything around us was bustling with life. We practiced “bending” openly, working with the elements of nature without judgments or fears. Now, there is a dark force that doesn’t want to adhere to the laws of nature and the spirit world. This dark force wishes to live by its own rules.

So now, many of us practice in private.

However, there are a few brave souls (like myself). Who are encouraging people to tap into their hidden power. Our ancestors understood that it was incredibly important to learn about nature. For they knew that by understanding nature, they could create and manifest wonderful and beautiful things for themselves and others. They knew that four was the number of creation, and worked with the four elements to create balance and harmony throughout the world. These four elements include air, water, fire, and earth.

Many people are unhappy and suffer in life because there is a misalignment of these elements:

The first element is air. Air represents our intention. Everything in existence begins and ends with just one thought

The second element is water. It represents emotions that can be used for manifestation

The third element is earth. This element represents action. This is when your thoughts and emotions materialize into something real

The fourth element is fire. This element represents righteousness. This is a sense of deserving. And having a profound feeling of worthiness

These are the four elements of creation needed to have balance and to manifest.

However, there is one element that can control all four. This element works much like the avatar, bringing peace to different nations. This element is pure consciousness. It could also be referred to as ashé, chi, or prana. This is when the mind is brought to a total and complete state of emptiness, of oneness. It is in this state, that you have the most clarity. In this state, you are able to turn the ideal into something real.

Who Is Orunmila?
09/04/12 17:17
Baba Ifa Karade conducts weekly teachings on Ifa, African parables, and Odu liturgy. In the first class he asked his attendees about Orunmila and the Odu. When Baba asked me about Orunmila, I was speechless. To be honest, I knew very little about the African prophet, and the information on the Internet was almost non-existent. Then, Baba started to ask me more difficult questions. Why is it that people know about great prophets like Muhammad and Jesus Christ (JC), but nothing about Orunmila? I thought long and hard about these questions. I’ve come to understand through my studies of Ifa, that it is not just about face value. The information is layered in such a way, that one really has to break down the elements in order to understand its true meaning.

In my opinion, people don’t understand the importance of Orunmila, because they really don’t understand Muhammad or JC. Prophets are really the spiritual leaders of the community. In modern times, we would say that they possess the “It Factor.” They have the power and insight to encourage change. There are a lot of people who actually fall into this category. However, prophets are single handedly able to change the perception of the entire world. But this is not an easy task. People tend to stick with the status quo because they would rather be in control than experience growth. People like to be in control because it ensures their own survival.

This is what separates the Great Prophets from ordinary man. They are on a higher level of consciousness and know and see things that ordinary man cannot. They work to implement change. The suffering that these prophets actually endure come from these oppositional forces. They are constantly fighting against the resentment, betrayal, and deceit of man. Yet, they keep moving, keep preaching, they keep pushing along, because they truly “know” that they have a message that can transcend all of mankind. When we talk about JC dying for our sins, we are talking about all the pain He endured to raise the level of human consciousness. It is because we fail to make a connection to these prophets that we don’t really see the value in ours.

In short, Orunmila is a prophet who spread the word of Ifa to aspirants in Africa. He brought down the Odu and worked with a team of Babalawos to ensure that people continued to fight against forces that resisted the flow of nature. Through the divination system, Orunmila worked to ensure that people tapped into their power and worked to transcend the overall consciousness of the human race. Contact us today for a divination or consultation to explore your hidden power and potential.